Developing a Multiple Caregiver Group for Caregivers of Adolescents With Disruptive Behaviors

Abstract

This article describes the development of a 6-week multiple caregiver group intervention for primary caregivers of adolescents diagnosed with Oppositional Defiant Disorder or Conduct Disorder in low-income African American families. The intervention is aimed at increasing the primary caregivers' self-efficacy in managing interactions within the family and especially with child serving educational, mental health, juvenile justice, and child welfare systems. Development of the intervention involved seven iterative activities performed in a collaborative effort between an interdisciplinary academic team, community engagement specialists, members of the targeted population, and clinical partners from a large public mental health system. The intervention development process described in this article can provide guidance for teams that aim to develop new mental health interventions that target specific outcomes in populations with unique needs.

Keywords: Caregiver and child serving systems; Conduct disorder; Intervention development; Multiple caregiver groups; Oppositional defiant disorder.